


Goodbye Mark

by sasstronautmarkwatney (msindyjones)



Category: The Martian (2015), The Martian - All Media Types, The Martian - Andy Weir
Genre: Super Angst, direct reference to character death
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-10-21
Updated: 2015-10-21
Packaged: 2018-04-27 12:09:21
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,196
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5048029
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/msindyjones/pseuds/sasstronautmarkwatney
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"Commander Lewis and the surviving crew, via long-range communication from Hermes, gave eulogies for their departed comrade from deep space."</p><p>My take on what the crew had to say about the lost of Mark Watney.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Goodbye Mark

**Author's Note:**

> After one of the times reading The Martian I stopped to ponder what the crew might have said in their eulogies. I couldn't stop thinking about it, so I wrote this.

It was a somber day. Much like every other day had been. Two months had passed since the emergency evacuation from Mars. Two months since the sand storm hit and NASA aborted Ares III. Two months since Mark had died. The rest of the crew did their best to not be despondent. They had ten more months of travel and had to remain vigilant. Today however, their schedules were suspended. Everyone was isolated in their quarters preparing for Mark’s memorial service.

 _Hermes_  was silent. It felt like even the ambient sounds were muted in mourning of the lost crew member. An occasional sniffle drifted through the halls. It was impossible to tell which room it was coming from.

One by one, the crew assembled in the Rec. The five barely making eye contact as they took seats in the room. Johanssen sat at the computer, typing away as she worked on setting up the long-range audio connection with NASA. Her eyes were puffy, red at the edges and her cheeks damp. Everyone wished that they could be on Earth for his ceremony. To be able to offer their condolences in person to Mark’s family. To offer physical comfort to his friends. They wished more that Mark was still with them. The six together. But there were many things that couldn’t be changed.

The service began with opening comments from Dr. Irene Shields. Speaking to the gathered audience about the difficulties of losing a loved one. How no one can prepare for accidents to happen and that grieving is natural and should be embraced. After her speech ended there was an interlude of music. Brass, woodwinds and bagpipes played solemnly through Arlington Cemetery. Mark’s mother didn’t hold back her tears, she sobbed into her husband’s shoulder as he held her tightly.

The music concluded, silence took over the cemetery. The President took the podium and gave his speech. It was heartfelt. He did his best to be uplifting. Praising the crew for their bravery and discussing how dangerous space travel is. His speech concluded and he stopped to shake hands with Mark’s parents. Giving his mother a hug as well before taking his place among the crowd.

A beat of silence. Taps began playing. The military preformed their ceremony. Taking their careful and deliberate steps and turns to the front of the crowd where there was a flag draped over an empty casket. The flag was folded with practiced hands, each seam straight and in line. Once finished the folded American flag was given to Mark’s mother. Words exchanged and she held tightly to the symbol of the nation.

It was the crew’s turn. Everyone on  _Hermes_  felt their chest tighten with more emotion at the prospect of speaking. They had to do it.

Vogel was first.

Taking his place at the computer he sat down. It felt strange giving a speech to a crowd of people that he couldn’t see. He knew his words would mean a great deal to everyone on Earth. He sighed before starting.

“Hallo, my name is Alex Vogel and I am the chemist aboard  _Hermes._  Today is a difficult day for everyone. There is no good way to express the sorrow of losing a friend. Especially when that friend is Mark Watney.” Vogel spoke clearly. Enunciating his words so his accent wouldn’t garble any of his speech over the long-range connection. “I have spent a lot of time with astronauts and none of them were quite like Mark. Critical minded and focused, it seemed that most astronauts wanted to make huge discoveries or break throughs. For them going to space was another accomplishment to put on their resume. For Mark, going to space was about the adventure.”

Vogel paused as he looked at the eulogy written on the paper in front of him. “Mark never seemed to stop having that wide eyed mysticism for the wonders of the universe. Often he’d pull one of us aside to look out the window. He’d point to the stars and say ‘Look how amazing that is.’ Even though it looks exactly the same as it did the day before. Every time he did so it gave me a new found respect for my job. To be able to witness such awe inspiring beauty every day. Mark made sure to appreciate it every moment he could. I want to be able to honor that. To appreciate every moment that Mark touched someone’s life. Every moment that he made some remember there is more to life than work and responsibilities. I’d like everyone to take a few moments to think of a time that Mark reminded you of the bigger picture. A small or large reason why there is beauty everywhere.”

Alex paused and waited. As he did he looked out the window of the Rec to the endless black expanse splattered with twinkling stars. He absorbed as much of it as he could. Knowing how much Watney would have appreciated the spectacle.

“Now,” He broke the silence to continue. “If you are able to do that every day. Take one moment to appreciate the universe and your place in it, Mark will live on with you.” His speech ended and he moved from the console to stand quietly among the back of the Rec.

Johanssen took his spot. She stared at the tablet that she had written her speech. It took her several moments to push down the emotion choking her throat so she could speak.  One last deep breath and she began. “Hi, I’m Beth Johanssen. The first time I met Mark was the day the Ares III crew was announced. I had heard of Mark Watney but our paths had never crossed. Immediately, I thought I wasn’t going to like him.” Beth couldn’t help but to smile to herself a bit. “Not because he was rude or arrogant. But because he made the worst jokes imaginable. I had never heard so many puns about plants before. A majority of them I didn’t even understand. Then he started making jokes about computers, of the same awful caliber. Problem was, I laughed at them. I didn’t know Mark knew enough about what I did to make jokes like that. It wasn’t until later that I found out that he made the point to learn about my job.” She paused to lick her lips. She blinked and tears slid from her eyes.

“I found one of those  _For Dummies_  books sitting on his desk. It was full of highlights and notes. As well as a list that was titled ‘Potential Jokes to Make Johanssen Roll Her Eyes’. How could I dislike a guy who made the effort to understand complicated programming just to crack a joke? I showed him how things worked and he explained to me hydropedalogy. Which I am certain is more complicated. After that we became close friends. He was always watching out for me. Mark was twelve years older than me and he always made sure I was okay. Losing him is, um, is devastating.” She had to stop, her hand went over her mouth.

Beck took a few quiet steps to stand next to her and place a reassuring hand on her shoulder. “Mark was an amazing person and I am going to miss his awful computer jokes.” Johanssen was barely able to finish speaking as her words became heavy with emotion. She stood up with tears streaming down her face and turned to hug Beck. The two stood motionless as Beth’s crying filled the Rec and was broadcasted over the open audio line. After composing herself, she took a seat near Vogel.

Already at the console, Chris took the seat to give his eulogy. He looked at the crew and then at the computer screen. It was black except for the few words of text indicating signal strength and the live connection. He thought about all the people on Earth. How they were reacting to the loss. They had been informed that not only did Mark’s family and dozens of people from NASA showed up for the memorial but hundreds of people lined up to attend. People that knew him and people that didn’t. Mark was in charge of media relations for the mission. His name was well known and associated with Ares III. He ran the Twitter and Instagram accounts. Managed the YouTube videos and answered as many questions as he could that the public sent in. Everyone loved Mark Watney and they all showed that by attending his memorial service to honor his memory.

Beck cleared his throat. “Hello, um, I’m Dr. Chris Beck, the uh, flight surgeon for Ares III.” He started. Beck was the opposite of Mark. He wasn’t good with public speaking. He tended to get stage fright and would lose focus. It helped that he couldn’t see the crowd that was listening to him. The only people it felt like he was speaking to was his four other crew members.

“I want to extend my condolences to Mark’s family. To his parents, Richard and Lynnette. The loss of a child, friend, and loved one is profound. It affects people in ways that are unpredicted. It hurts on a level that can’t be explained. To lose someone as great as Mark Watney is tragic. He was unlike any person I’ve known. I don’t think I’ve ever seen him be anything more than mildly agitated. Mark was incapable of being angry at someone. He made a point to figure out the problem before jumping to conclusions. Even if he wasn’t part of an argument he was able to quickly diffuse the situation before it escalated. He was incredibly intuitive when it came to people. I have taken many courses in psychology and sociology but I am sure that Mark was more qualified to care for a person’s wellbeing than myself.” Chris looked at his scribbled handwriting on the notecard. He hadn’t written out his whole speech, just key points he wanted to bring up.

“Being the doctor for the mission people were supposed to come to me with their problems. For the longest time I thought that we had the perfect crew. That was until I found out that everyone was going to talk to Mark instead of me. I couldn’t even be angry. Everyone was happy and Mark loved doing it. Losing him is more than losing the engineer or botanist. Losing Mark has taken a vital part of the crew. The soul of the crew. We miss you Mark, it won’t be the same without you.” With no predetermined end for his speech, Beck felt that he had reached a good ending point. He let Martinez take his place as he moved from the computer and sat next to Johanssen.

“Hello everyone.” Martinez spoke to the microphone. “I’m Rick Martinez.” Rick paused. He didn’t write anything down. He didn’t know what to write. “I didn’t prepare a speech to give. I tried to write something down but I it found impossible. Mark Watney was my closest friend. We met shortly before joining the Astronaut Candidate Program. It was sort of a challenge to each other to see if we could get selected. To my enormous surprise, I managed to get picked. I wasn’t at all surprised when Mark was chosen. He had everything to be the perfect astronaut. When we were told that we both made the cut for the Ares III mission, we went out and celebrated. Anyone that has been around Mark when he celebrates you know that he serious about his jovial time. I think we celebrated for three days straight. He wouldn’t stop, never gave up. Until he literally couldn’t get off the couch.”

The crew smirked. Martinez hoped that his slight joke had the same effect for the people listening on Earth. “But that was the kind of person Mark was. He never stopped, never gave up. With anything. He worked every problem, every task no matter how trivial it was until the job was done. I had never met anyone with the level of dedication that he had. His drive to do everything right the first time was contagious. After hanging around him for a few years I found myself wanting everything to be better in my life. Mark was the standard for determination and hard work. I haven’t been able to get anywhere as close to the level he was. But I know that being his friend has made me put more effort into everything I do. From being an astronaut, a friend, a husband and a father. My life significantly improved when I befriended Mark and I thought I already had a perfect life.”

Martinez had spent a majority of the last two months not wanting to believe that his best friend had been killed and left on Mars. That this was all a bad dream and that it would end. This was the first time that he had to admit to himself that they had lost Mark. It was crushing. He felt hot tears spill over the edges of his eyes.

“I am going to miss Mark more than I can express. The world has lost a great man, NASA lost a great astronaut. Lynnette and Richard have lost a great son and I lost a great friend. One that will never be able to be replaced. I wish he could be here to tell me what to say. I’m sure he’d tell me, ‘Just suck it up, Martinez. Tell them what you feel.’” Martinez wiped his eyes with his sleeve. “He’d tell me that no matter what I said everyone would know that I meant it and that it would be sincere. I honestly don’t know what I am going to do without him. We spent an enormous amount of time together not having him around feels like there is a part of me missing.” Rick bit his bottom lip to keep it from quivering. He let out a deep sigh. “I can only pray that God is able to give me the strength to deal with Mark’s passing.” He took another breath.

“I commend you, my dear Mark to almighty God, and entrust you to your Creator. May you rest in the arms of the Lord who formed you from the dust of the earth. May holy Mary, the angels and all the saints welcome you now that you have gone forth from this life. May Christ who was crucified for you, bring you freedom and peace. May Christ who died for you admit you into his garden of paradise. May Christ, the true Shepherd, embrace you as one of his flock. May he forgive all your sins, and set you among those he has chosen. May you see your Redeemer face to face, and enjoy the vision of God, forever. Amen.” Martinez finished with his prayer, feeling uplifted as he did. The pilot took his place with the rest of the crew.

Lewis was last. Everyone watched as their commander took the seat that they all held to give their speeches. Melissa waited a moment before speaking. “Hello, I’m Commander Melissa Lewis.” Her voice was even. “I want to start by extending my condolences to Mark’s family, friends and co-workers. To the people he knew in passing and to the individuals he was able to influence without knowing at all. Mark was a great man. Being his Commander I was given the chance to spend a lot time with him. We trained together for two years and we became close in that time. Much like the rest of the crew we became friends. It is imperative to the success of a mission to understand each other. To understand what makes a person who they are. The crew of a space mission is closer than most families. In the time spent with Mark I was privileged with getting to know him.” Lewis managed to keep her tone smooth, the aspect of her command background helping a great deal.

“I learned a lot about him. He doesn’t believe in pineapple on pizza. Literally doesn’t believe in it. He couldn’t fathom a universe in which someone would put pineapple on pizza. Until he met me. I ordered double pineapple. I thought he was going to have a meltdown when that box opened. I leaned that he loved dogs more than anyone I had never met. No matter where we were, he’d point out a dog. I learned that he still had a blog. One where he critiqued space movies and elaborated on the blaring inaccuracies that Hollywood displayed in the films. I learned that he was a very caring man. Every day of training he would show up with coffee for everyone. Given that the coffee was free on site but he still took the time to make a cup just how everyone liked it. He would stop what he was doing to help anyone, even if they didn’t ask.” The first sign of emotion crept into her voice.

“I have had a lot of people under my command through the years and there was no one I would have wanted more than Mark. He never caused conflict and was always able to resolve it. He was kind and funny. Incredibly in tune with everything going on. Not only with the ship but also the crew. Losing Mark was an inconceivable outcome. We trained for the loss of a crew member but that didn’t prepare us for his sudden death. It has caused a change that cannot be ignored. Everyone has been affected on a personal level and it is difficult to express that sorrow.

I don’t want to dwell on that. I want to highlight the qualities that made Mark a great man. His perseverance, independence, problem solving and intuitiveness made him a great astronaut. But it was his humor, intelligence, understanding and caring nature that made him an even greater friend. Everyone has suffered a great loss but it is going to be up to everyone to keep those qualities alive in yourself to honor his memory. When faced with a problem don’t run away from it, take it head on. Figure out how to take that and make yourself stronger. When you are having a down day remember how Mark would joke and put a smile on your face. Try your best to put a little bit of what Mark was in your daily life and he will live on with everyone. I know I will.”

For the first time in two months, tears slid down the commander’s cheeks. “We love you and miss you, Mark.” She finished before the emotion in her voice betrayed her.

As she moved from the computer, the crew stood to their feet and they all pulled one another in for a large hug as the memorial service carried on. It was a difficult day but saying their goodbyes helped. They let go of one another and turned look out the window at the expanse of space. Taking in the stars as Teddy Sanders started his speech. 

 

**Author's Note:**

> I hope you enjoyed. Comments and reviews are always welcome.


End file.
